US$17K Bridge Scam: Hurungwe Officials and Contractor Get 18 Years Each

Two senior officials from the Hurungwe Rural District Council, engineer Romeo Mupamaonde and his assistant Alfred Makama, have each been sentenced to 18 years in prison for misappropriating US$17,990 allocated for the construction of the Chehoko Causeway bridge.

They were convicted alongside Batsirayi Nyamayaro, director of Anstand Investments (Pvt) Ltd, the company awarded the tender to build the bridge in June 2022.

Instead of fulfilling the contract, Nyamayaro conspired with Mupamaonde and Makama to subcontract the work to Kainos Mupiwa, who completed the project with help from local villagers. The community members provided free labour, while Mupiwa was paid only US$1,450.

Each of the three convicted men was sentenced to 18 years behind bars, with three years of the sentence suspended for five years on the condition they do not commit another fraud-related offence. Additionally, they were fined US$5,000 apiece.

Anstand Investments was also slapped with a US$5,000 fine. Should the company fail to pay, the High Court Registrar has been instructed to issue a writ of execution, allowing the Sheriff to confiscate and sell company property to recover the amount.

The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) arrested the trio in 2023, along with Hurungwe RDC chief executive Luke Kalavina. While Kalavina was cleared of any role in this case, he remains in custody awaiting sentencing on unrelated charges, scheduled for July 18.